DC's "new" timeline revealed at NYCC

[Tzigone]

If Dick starts at 8 he would be 20 in COIE and 35 in Flashpoint, while Bruce would be around 35 and 50. Clark is older than Bruce by 6 years.

I guess that could work? I just don't imagine that's the age they were during the Morrison era.

Dick was said to be 20 and 22 in a couple issues the late 1980s. It's only later in the post-COIE-era that the de-aging started for him (definitely by Nigthwing Year One, which said he was 21, which made no sense at all). Even before Flashpoint, Dick's age when starting as Robin has been all over the map - from 8 to 13. I'm pretty sure both 10 and 13 were used in the 1986-1990 era, but wouldn't swear to it. In this new timeline, he premieres as Robin the same year as Wally does as Flash. Wally was originally a 9th grader, but I know later they pushed him back to 13, and he may even have been made younger at some point - no idea. Since this version has the Teen Titans debut 3 years after Robin and Kid Flash, 10 is a minimum age for Dick donning the costume, I think, with 12 or 13 being more likely. New Teen Titans are 6 years after Robin debuts, so he's probably 13, if they want to keep that happening when Dick was 19. No guarantees, though.

[Lee Stone]

We may as all relax and wait for the next reboot. By fixing their origins to a specific point in time, DC's assured that we'll be doing this again as soon as somebody in a few years starts asking "so how old does that make Batman?"

If they had done this with New52, it may still be here.
If nothing else, it will help creators know what did or didn't happen in a character's past and give them a firmer foundation when writing them.

[Digifiend]

Guys. I can't believe I missed it, but in the largest picture, above all the timeline, written in blue, it's said

DC CHARACTER TIMELINE
8(something) YEARS REAL TIME (19something-2something) / 6(something) YEARS ELAPSED TIME

25+15+15+5=65
The gen years are not real-time. Bruce is not 60, Dick is not 40. Tim is not 20.

It's right there. I can't believe I missed the biggest words XD

Four 5s don't make a number ending in 5. It's 60, not 65.

[Zaresh]

If they had done this with New52, it may still be here.
If nothing else, it will help creators know what did or didn't happen in a character's past and give them a firmer foundation when writing them.

I think this may be actually why they're doing it, more than even for the sake of fans.

[witchboy]

I am confused on how Barbara becomes Batgirl eight years after Dick becomes Robin. How old were they supposed to be when those events happened?

[Tzigone]

I am confused on how Barbara becomes Batgirl eight years after Dick becomes Robin. How old were they supposed to be when those events happened?

Great question. I think they are keeping Barbara and Dick similarly aged (I prefer the age gap), and making Dick 13 when he became Robin and Barbara will be a 21/22 year old (she was originally a college graduate) 8 years later. I prefer him 10-12 when becoming Robin and her becoming Batgirl 4-6 years later (when he's 15/16 and she's 22/23, as it originally was).

[Pohzee]

I am confused on how Barbara becomes Batgirl eight years after Dick becomes Robin. How old were they supposed to be when those events happened?

If Dick started as Robin at 9'as is stated in the New Teen Titans, he would be 17 when Batgirl debuted. If he became Nightwing at 19, that leaves two years of them active together as Batgirl and Robin. One while he was in Gotham and another when he was at Hudson U and their teamups in the Batman Family comics. I'd say in the scope of things that's fairly close to how it originally played out.

[Zaresh]

I am confused on how Barbara becomes Batgirl eight years after Dick becomes Robin. How old were they supposed to be when those events happened?

It's not the only thing that has changed its order from the classic timeline. Look at how Dick and Damian become a team. Dickbats happened after Flashpoint now, and Tim became Red Robin before loosing his Robin mantle. And, well, Diana apparently was the first Leaguer now.

EDIT: I'm working with Photoshop now. Let's see if I can put some decent charts.

[Restingvoice]

I am confused on how Barbara becomes Batgirl eight years after Dick becomes Robin. How old were they supposed to be when those events happened?

Bronze Age version. Barbara Batgirl debuts very late after Dick is a teenager.
The age we don't know at the moment. They can be the same age, they can have an age gap

[witchboy]

Great question. I think they are keeping Barbara and Dick similarly aged (I prefer the age gap), and making Dick 13 when he became Robin and Barbara will be a 21/22 year old (she was originally a college graduate) 8 years later. I prefer him 10-12 when becoming Robin and her becoming Batgirl 4-6 years later (when he's 15/16 and she's 22/23, as it originally was).

Thanks, that does help. I think it's increasingly weird to think that Dick was fighting crime at 13. It really makes Bruce seem dangerously reckless to allow that, but I know it's true to the classic history and that Golden Age Robin was 8 years old I think.

[Lee Stone]

I am confused on how Barbara becomes Batgirl eight years after Dick becomes Robin. How old were they supposed to be when those events happened?

The origin for Batgirl from the '80s had her become Batgirl after she graduated from Gotham State (with a Masters) and got a job as head librarian at the Gotham Public Library.

Meanwhile, in Nightwing's origin, he stated that he was almost 11 when Batman gave him the Robin costume and made him his sidekick.

So, if there is and 8-year difference, then they could be about the same age. Barbara could be a year or two older depending on how long she was in college.

[Zaresh]

Thanks, that does help. I think it's increasingly weird to think that Dick was fighting crime at 13. It really makes Bruce seem dangerously reckless to allow that, but I know it's true to the classic history and that Golden Age Robin was 8 years old I think.

He was, I think. But they may play the "crime wasn't that nasty back then" card for an excuse of Bruce allowing him to go out as Robin. That, and Bruce really being reckless: it doesn't look like they're going to retcon the ages of sidekicks or teen heroes for making then halfway teenagers.

[Tzigone]

Thanks, that does help. I think it's increasingly weird to think that Dick was fighting crime at 13. It really makes Bruce seem dangerously reckless to allow that, but I know it's true to the classic history and that Golden Age Robin was 8 years old I think.

Eh, that's iffy on the Golden Age, I think, though many will disagree. There one issue with a birthday that implies him 8 (maybe only turning 8, from what I recall, but I could be misremembering). But he doesn't act 8. He flirts. He does some undercover work as a steward/waiter. And the law had changed by then, severely limiting work for under-14s (though that was only a temp gig). Really, he doesn't seem to have a set age then, if you ask me, but acts more 10-14 (probably more 12-14) than 8. Actually, I've seen some argument for real-time aging, then, but don't recall if it was in any shape convincing.

[witchboy]

Eh, that's iffy on the Golden Age, I think, though many will disagree. There one issue with a birthday that implies him 8 (maybe only turning 8, from what I recall, but I could be misremembering). But he doesn't act 8. He flirts. He does some undercover work as a steward/waiter. And the law had changed by then, severely limiting work for under-14s (though that was only a temp gig). Really, he doesn't seem to have a set age then, if you ask me, but acts more 10-14 (probably more 12-14) than 8. Actually, I've seen some argument for real-time aging, then, but don't recall if it was in any shape convincing.

I only recently finished the current run of Golden Age Batman omnibuses. There's an issue with Robin's birthday where Batman counts to eight when he gives him his birthday spanking, and this is after he had been Robin for a bit. That does pretty clearly intend he started at age 7. Those issues occasionally referred back to past events and mentioned how many years had passed. WW2 was mentioned a lot, which does suggest those Earth 2 characters were aging in real time.
What confuses that is that the last omnibus out ended in 1951 so Robin had been active for around 11 years but still seems like a kid. If they were aging in real time Dick should've been 18 by that point. Bette Kane was brought in as a love interest in 1961 and they seem to be teenagers then. So I think at the least his aging was slowed down some.
That would put Earth 2 Robin in his fifties in Crisis on Infinite Earths when he looked to be maybe late thirties/early forties, maybe?

[Zaresh]

I'm changing my mind, and I'm doing some google sheets for each generation. I noticed a thing while doing it; it seems that there should be another row under the last one (which I cannot properly read, but I think stands for something like WAR / ****** (GROUP). It could be that's where they put the Vertigo (and maybe Wildstorm?) line of characters that aren't anywhere to be found in the chart otherwise.